Kyodo News Digest: April 23, 2025
The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
----------
Japan to emphasize benefits of free trade to U.S. in tariff talks: PM
TOKYO - Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Wednesday that Japan will emphasize the importance of free trade in bilateral tariff negotiations with the United States, despite President Donald Trump pursuing his protectionist and growth-stifling "America First" policy.
During a one-on-one parliamentary debate with opposition party leaders, Ishiba said Japan will highlight its contributions through investment in the United States. This follows Trump's decision to impose tariffs in a bid to rectify what he sees as imbalanced state of trade.
----------
Japan ministers steer clear of war-linked Yasukuni during festival
TOKYO - None of the current members of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's Cabinet visited the war-linked Yasukuni shrine during a three-day spring festival that ended Wednesday, partly due to diplomatic considerations.
Ishiba sent a ritual "masakaki" offering to the shrine on the first day of the festival, prompting a protest from China and disappointing South Korea. The neighboring countries see the Shinto shrine as a symbol of Japan's past militarism.
----------
Expo Osaka draws 1 million visitors in 11 days since opening
OSAKA - The number of visitors to the World Exposition in Osaka reached one million on Wednesday, in 11 days since its opening, the organizers said.
Speaking at an event to mark the milestone, Hiroyuki Ishige, secretary general of the Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition, said the expo will be a good holiday destination for a "once in a lifetime" experience during the upcoming Golden Week season.
----------
2nd melted fuel sample retrieved from crippled Fukushima reactor
TOKYO - The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power complex said it retrieved the second sample of melted fuel Wednesday from one of the reactors hit by a massive earthquake and tsunami over a decade ago.
The debris extracted from the No. 2 reactor by Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. is believed to weigh 3 grams or less, out of the estimated 880 tons remaining in the Nos. 1 to 3 units that melted down during the nuclear crisis that began in March 2011.
----------
Japan PM to make 4-day visit to Vietnam, Philippines from Sunday
TOKYO - Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is set to make a four-day trip from Sunday to Vietnam and the Philippines as part of Japan's summit diplomacy to maintain a rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific region, the government said Wednesday.
Japan has been focusing on building stronger ties with Southeast Asian nations, as U.S. President Donald Trump has sparked uncertainty over the global economic and security situation. Ishiba's visit follows Chinese President Xi Jinping's recent trip to the region.
----------
Japan's chief negotiator slammed for "MAGA" cap photo with Trump
TOKYO - The leader of Japan's main opposition party on Wednesday lambasted the country's chief negotiator on U.S. tariffs for taking a photo with President Donald Trump while wearing a red "Make America Great Again" cap presented to him in Washington.
Economic revitalization minister Ryosei Akazawa, who is responsible for the tariff issue, "crossed a line," said Noda, chief of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, during a one-on-one parliamentary debate with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.
----------
Japan carmakers aim to bounce back with new EVs at Shanghai show
SHANGHAI - Major Japanese automakers unveiled their latest electric vehicle models at the Shanghai motor show on Wednesday, hoping to bounce back in the Chinese market that has seen cutthroat competition with local carmakers amid a rapid shift toward new energy vehicles.
About 1,000 companies including auto parts makers are participating in the biennial show through May 2, one of the world's biggest auto exhibitions, at a time when a tit-for-tat tariff war between the United States and China has cast a shadow over the car industry.
----------
Judo: Japanese women aim to rebound from Olympic setback at worlds
TOKYO - After mustering only two medals at the Paris Olympics, the Japanese women's judo team faces a difficult road as it seeks to reassert its dominance at the world championships in June.
Japan's nine-woman contingent in Budapest will feature three world championship debutants and only one previous winner in Uta Abe, a shock second-round loser at last summer's Olympics, who will fight for her fifth world title at 52 kilograms.
Video: "Commons" joint pavilions popular among visitors at Osaka Expo
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
2 hours ago
LDP Lawmakers' Plenary Meeting Eyed for Aug. 8
Tokyo, July 31 (Jiji Press)--Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party is considering holding a general meeting of its lawmakers in both chambers of the Diet, the country's parliament, on or around Aug. 8, a senior party official has revealed. The envisaged meeting comes in response to the LDP-led ruling bloc's loss of majority in the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of the Diet, in the July 20 election. Unlike a general meeting of member lawmakers held Monday, the plenary meeting is the LDP's official decision-making organ based on the party's rules. While Prime Minister and LDP President Shigeru Ishiba aims to continue seeking understanding for his plan to stay on, moves to oust him from power are unabated. The party's leadership team decided to hold a plenary meeting in hopes to avoid giving the impression that it was pressured into doing so, amid moves by members of the now-defunct LDP faction led by former party Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi to gather signatures to call for convening such a meeting with an aim to urge Ishiba to step down. On Tuesday, state minister of agriculture Hiroyoshi Sasagawa, a member of the former Motegi faction, who is playing a central role in the signature-gathering campaign, and others urged Haruko Arimura, chair of the plenary meeting, to discuss issues concerning Ishiba's possible resignation. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
Japan Today
6 hours ago
- Japan Today
Ishiba eyes better ties with S Korea after meeting foreign chief
Title: Japan South Korea Image ID: 25210332700673 Article: Japan's Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya, right, shakes hands with South Korea's Foreign Minister Cho Hyun at the start of their meeting at the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo, Japan on Tuesday,. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Wednesday expressed his desire to maintain the "good" momentum in relations with South Korea, as he met with visiting Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, who assumed his post earlier in the month. During their first meeting at his office, Ishiba also stressed the importance of deepening trilateral cooperation with the United States, according to the Japanese government. Bilateral and trilateral cooperation have taken on greater importance in addressing North Korea's missile and nuclear weapons development, while Tokyo is also seeking to resolve the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by Pyongyang in the 1970s and 1980s. Before meeting with Ishiba for about 15 minutes, Cho, on his first overseas trip as foreign minister, held talks with Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya on Tuesday and said he wants to develop "future-oriented" bilateral ties. "Japan and South Korea are important neighbors who must work together as partners to tackle various global challenges," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said at a press conference. Ties between Tokyo and Seoul have been improving in recent years after a difficult period due to issues related to wartime history and territory. The Korean Peninsula was under Japanese colonial rule between 1910 and 1945. On the margins of the Group of Seven leaders' summit in Canada in June, Ishiba and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung agreed to develop stable ties, including by visiting each other's countries for talks. © KYODO
15 hours ago
TEPCO Ordered to Pay 100 M. Yen in Damages over N-Disaster
News from Japan Jul 30, 2025 17:20 (JST) Tokyo, July 30 (Jiji Press)--Tokyo District Court ordered Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. on Wednesday to pay about 100 million yen in damages over the 2011 accident at its Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. Presiding Judge Masahiko Abe ordered the payment mainly as compensation for damage to property and consolation money for life during evacuation while dismissing the claim against the state. In the lawsuit, Katsutaka Idogawa, 79, former mayor of Futaba, a town in Fukushima Prefecture, blamed the central government and TEPCO for their inadequate handling of the accident, arguing that it led to his exposure to radiation. Futaba is one of the two municipalities that host the northeastern Japan nuclear plant, which experienced meltdowns after being hit by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami. He sought a total of 755 million yen in the suit. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
